The term electronic mail, or email, is becoming familiar, but not everyone knows just what it means. Email is a message which is transmitted electronically to one or more recipients. It can be a simple, "Hi, how are you?" or pages and pages of explanation for why the check is late. Email can be transmitted between users on local computer networks, or it can transmitted on the Internet. After you compose an email message and hit the "send" key, the message is transmitted from your computer to a host computer. The host is the Internet provider, either a local provider or an information service like Prodigy. The host computer stores the message until you are ready to read it.
Just like a letter, email on the Internet requires an address to get where it's going. An email address has two parts, separated by @. The first part is called the "mailbox" or "local" and is your personal identifier, your name or number. The second part is called the "domain" and refers to the computer holding your mail, such as your Internet provider. Email addresses in the United States (and most of the rest of the world except England) can be interpreted by reading from right to left. At the tail end of the domain is a three letter extension called the "zone" which identifies the type of network used. These are:
| .com | commercial network |
| .edu | educational institution |
| .gov | government bodies and institutions |
| .int | international organizations (e.g. NATO) |
| .mil | military sites |
| .net | networking organizations |
| .org | other organizations (e.g. professional societies) |
To the left of the zone is the name of the company or organization. For big organizations, another name may lie to the left of the company name and it denotes the name of a particular section or other subset of the company. For example, to email someone at the University Extension (known as UNEX) at the University of California, Davis, the email address is:
The user id can be a name or a number, depending on the conventions dictated by the Internet provider and the mail program. In the Northern Sierra, local Internet providers generally allow a word of your own choosing to act as an identifier. This may or may not be your name, depending on your preference. National information services like CompuServe sometimes assign a number. Generally, as more people use email, addresses are getting longer and more complicated. At the very least, they are starting to clutter up business cards and rolodexes. Most mail programs let you keep a list of the addresses you use frequently.
Email addresses, unlike some file names, are usually not case sensitive; they read no caps, all caps and a mixture of lower and upper case letters as the same. The general rule is that the domain part of the name is not case sensitive, but the local part may be (some UNIX systems read only lower case). Until this is standardized, you should use all lower case letters when typing an address.
In some systems, the Internet address must be preceded with a director to that system. For example, CompuServe users can send email to other CompuServe users with only the standard address (which looks something like 000000.000@compuserve.com). But to send mail to anyone else, their address must be preceded by INTERNET: (just to be confusing, this director is case sensitive and must be in all caps). Some UNIX systems also require a particular prefix. If you are having trouble sending email, consult the manual for your mailer program to see if it requires a prefix.
Most email contains text. It can be composed on any word processing program and then pasted into the message or typed directly into the message screen itself. Email programs, however, do not recognize special formatting. They won't reproduce bold, underline, or italics, and, in most cases, use the standard type-writer looking text. For some users, this is boring and limiting. So computer designers created MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) to allow special text formatting and inclusion of graphics, full-motion video, and sound. At this point, most computer systems cannot interpret these features and MIME allows message creators to send information readable on basic systems. For example, a message can contain formatted text, video, and sound, but can be read as simple text by systems that do not have video monitors or sound systems. For nearly all mail programs that operate on Windows or Macintosh systems, the introduction to the message includes a line that looks like this:
This means that your mail program is using MIME version 1 (the only one there is) and that the message content is text using ascii characters.
Just like with a regular letter, you sometimes want to send attachments along with your message. Most email programs allow you to attach a file to be sent along with the message. Because most email programs only transfer files which are text files, you must disguise binary files so that the program thinks they are text. The program which does this is called "uuencode". Uuencode requires a keyword and use of FTP for transfer (see Chapter 3 for more information about FTP). The recipient must then use another program, called "uudecode " to decode the file and translate it back to its original binary format.
Information transmitted on the Internet follows established protocols. This guide discusses many of these, such as file transfer protocol (FTP) and Internet Protocol (IP). The protocol for transferring email is called the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP). After you compose a message, address it, and send it, your mail server starts the SMTP program and it searches for the address. If the receiving computer is linked directly to the Internet with a line which is always open, the message is immediately transferred to the computer to which it was addressed. Depending on the mail program you have, it saves the message in a predetermined location and lets the recipient know it's there. A mailbox icon with a red flag to indicate waiting mail is a common tool. This system is common for large networks which can dedicate a computer to act as a mail server. If you are not connected directly (which is the more common situation in the Northern Sierra), your Internet service provider is and saves the message for you. This allows you to forget about email until you log on to the provider's system and retrieve it following that system's requirements.
Sending email is simple on nearly every mail program. The program asks you for the address of the recipient (or recipients if you want to send it to more than one person) and the subject of the message. If you want to attach a file to the message, you name the file and identify whether it is a text or binary file (this is further explained under File Transfer Protocol later). The message can be typed directly or, if using a system with multitasking capabilities (everything except DOS), you can copy text from another program and paste it into the message space. Most mail programs do not yet offer spell checking, but that is becoming more prevalent as the programs become more sophisticated. Once the message is ready to send, you can choose to send immediately (usually a command like "send now"), or you can hold the message in a queue to send later. If you have several messages to send, holding them for transmittal all together will save time.
Receiving email is also a simple task. (Deciding what to do with it may be harder.) Your mailer program will somehow alert you to the fact that you have mail waiting. You can retrieve a list of the email messages by choosing the mail icon, searching the menus, or typing in a command depending on the type of system. The list will display the date of the message, the sender, the subject, and the size. Opening each message is as simple as choosing it or highlighting it and choosing what to do with it (open, save, reply, etc.) Once you have read the message, you have many choices about what to do next.
The ease of answering and flexibility of how to store messages is one of the true time saving advantages of email. You may choose to delete the message, save the message in a predetermined place, reply to the message, forward the message to someone else, or print it out. Each choice is a simple click or command away. If you choose to reply to the message, the program opens another message window with the address and subject already filled in. The original message text may also appear, indicated by a forward arrow (>) at the beginning of each line. You may edit the text (paraphrasing the original message) and add to it before sending it back to the originator. This same flexibility exists if you choose to forward the message to someone else. This is an extremely effective way for several people to review material and make comments before sending it back to the original author.
One of the facts everyone faces as they begin to use email is the duplicating dilemma. Sending email is easy, answering it is easy, but not everyone is used to using it yet. It isn't uncommon for new users to send an email, then call the recipient to tell them to check their email, then fax a hard copy so the recipient can see what the message looks like formatted in a certain way, then follow up with a clean copy in the mail. (The authors of this manual sheepishly admit to this.) The truth is that we have many good ways of communicating with each other, but the various methods are more suited to some kinds of communication than others. Email is very effective for the following purposes:
The discussion of email so far presents a general description of how email works. There are very many email programs and, naturally, each presents slightly different approaches to these and other tasks. This guide includes a description of the most common email programs and where to find additional information about them.
This program is the basic mailer that comes bundled with most UNIX systems and is often referred to as Berkeley mail because it was developed at the University of California at Berkeley. The Windows version is xmail.
Mail prompts UNIX users for each step of the mail creation process. One of two methods usually exist to end the message and go on with other functions: typing a period on a line by itself or punching ctrl+d. At that point, the message is sent, or, if it's not, mail displays a message explaining why. This program is not menu driven and users must be familiar with basic UNIX commands to operate it. For more information, contact: http://www2.ecst.csuchico.edu/src/mail/htdocs/index.html
Elm is the mailer which comes bundled on Hewlett Packard UNIX workstations as it was developed by employees of that company. It operates with a series of screens which provide the user with easy to choose options (unlike mail which requires function commands). It uses familiar UNIX text editors. This mailer, developed several years ago, provided the basis for newer programs (such as pine, described below), which generally have improved the user-friendly characteristics. Elm is a freeware program. For more information, contact: http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/elm/ref_gd.html
Pine is the work of former and current staff at the University of Washington Office of Computing and Communications. Pine and Pico are trademarks of the University of Washington and are freeware.
The guiding principles for Pine's user-interface were: careful limitation of features, one-character mnemonic commands, always-present command menus, immediate user feedback, and high tolerance for user mistakes. Pine operates on UNIX and PCs. Pine's message composition editor, Pico, is also available as a separate stand-alone program. Pico is a very simple and easy-to-use text editor offering paragraph justification, cut/paste, and a spelling checker.
Pine offers on line help, a message index, an address book, a message composer with editor and spelling checker, message attachments via MIME specifications, and message folder management tools. For further information, contact: http://www.rvs.uni-hannover.de/sysdoc/Getting_Started_On_Pine.html
Eudora is the most popular mail program for Windows users. It exists as a freeware program, Eudora Light, or an advanced version, Eudora Pro, is available for purchase.
Eudora is an open, standards-based email application that delivers full-function links between Macintoshes and PCs across the Internet. It provides complete network or Internet service provider account connectivity without requiring translation gateways and servers. Eudora Pro has an enhanced feature set that goes well beyond the capabilities of the freeware version, including the following: rules-based message filtering, server maildrop management, on-line help, automatic attachment opening, built-in spell checking, and multiple signature files. It also automatically decodes binary files which have been translated by the uuencode program.
For more information, contact: http://www.netspot.unisa.edu.au/eudora/contents.html
All email users should know that, without precautions, it is not absolutely private. You cannot control what someone else will do with the email you send them. (Of course, you can't control that with a letter either, but it is very easy to forward email.) In some network situations, managers do not allow individual passwords, to specifically prevent privacy. This section provides you with some elementary cautions about email and the developing etiquette for such communications.
The Center for Public Interest Law prepared a fact sheet in 1994 concerning employer/ employee rights regarding electronic communications. The following paragraphs are excerpted from their report. Please refer to gopher://pwa.acusd.edu/00/USDinfo/privacy/ fsenglish/fs7.txt for the complete text.
Computer Monitoring. If you have a computer terminal at your job, it may be your employer's window into your workspace. There are several types of computer monitoring.
Is my employer allowed to see what is on my terminal while I am working?
Electronic Mail and Voice Mail.
Is electronic mail private? What about voice mail?
When I delete messages from my terminal, are they still in the system?
My employer's electronic mail system has an option for marking messages as "private." Are those messages protected?
Is there ever a circumstance in which my messages are private?
Workplace Privacy Protections
What about my employer's promises regarding e-mail and other workplace privacy issues. Are they legally binding?
The simplest, and often least effective, way to protect your communications is through use of a password. Subscribers to Internet services are offered a password which prevents logon without it. As this slows the connect process, many users choose to ignore this feature. Even when this is required, such as remote access (using someone else's computer to retrieve your mail), the password is only as secure as you allow it to be. Giving it to your teenager is a common mistake.
Due to the increased interest in secure email, many mail programs are including encryption devices which scramble messages. Anyone without the keyword cannot read the message. The two systems which provide this feature are PEM (Privacy Enhanced Mail) and PGP (Pretty Good Privacy). PGP is the most popular and can be downloaded free and added to your mail system.
If your computer or network is linked to the Internet, the most secure way to protect data or other information in your computer is to construct a firewall . A firewall is a program that only lets certain kinds of messages into or out of your system. Generally, email can flow freely in either direction. A firewall prevents anyone without specific access authority from logging in remotely (telnetting) or from copying files (FTPing).
Netiquette is the term used for etiquette on the Internet. General standards and rules for proper email have evolved over the years. They are intended to keep communication polite. In some forums or chat lines, netiquette is taken quite seriously and continual disregard can prompt protest and even exclusion from participation. Some of the more common rules of thumb or points of netiquette:
Bulletin board systems (BBS) are on line services which allow users to read and post messages, usually organized around a single topic. They often are not linked to the Internet and often involve community interests. One such type in the Tahoe area is the Tahoe-Truckee Community Network (TTCN). This BBS is public service-oriented and includes conferences for special events, political jurisdictions, public service organizations, and schools. Within each conference, announcements can be posted and response messages generated to stimulate community interaction. This BBS is an on line system and is accessed with a modem dialing a local phone number, yet it does not use TCP/IP protocols and only serves users in the local area. TTCN organizers report that it will soon offer an Internet link which provides Internet email and some remote Internet program access.
The Internet supports BBSs as well. The best example is the Usenet , the world's largest BBS. It contains more than 4,000 different topic groups, ranging from technical information (e.g. computer equipment and software questions) to hobbies (e.g. quilting) to advice (e.g. cooking tips or auto repair information). In fact, the variety available and the daily changes to the offerings would be intimidating to follow if help were not available. April N. Marine, at SRI International, offers this advice to new Usenet users.
If you are new to Usenet, you should take the time to read the posts in: news.announce. newusers (n.a.n.) carefully. If they are not available in your newsreader , they also available by mail server or anonymous FTP (see below) in: rtfm.mit.edu:/pub/usenet/ news.announce.newusers/
A few that are most likely to be immediately helpful are:
A newsgroup is a bulletin board in which readers, interested in that newsgroup's particular topic, can read and respond to messages posted by other readers. Generally, there will be a few "threads" of discussion going on at the same time, but they all share some common theme. There are approximately 900 newsgroups, and there are more being added all the time.
There are two types of newsgroups: moderated and unmoderated. A moderated newsgroup does not allow individuals to post directly to the newsgroup. Rather, the postings go to the newsgroup's moderator who determines whether or not to pass the posting to the entire group. An unmoderated newsgroup allows a reader to post directly to the other readers.
Just like Internet sites and email, newsgroups are named in a particular way to let you find them (similar to an address). Newsgroups are arranged into hierarchies which group similar topics; the hierarchy abbreviation forms the beginning of the newsgroup name. Top-level names of the official Unsenet hierarchies are:
| comp | topics related to computers |
| sci | topics related to one of the sciences |
| rec | recreational (sports, hobbies, the arts) |
| soc | social newsgroups |
| news | topics related to net news |
| misc | miscellaneous topics |
| talk | discussion groups, often political |
Messages passed back and forth in real time are an intriguing part of the Internet. Programs exist to allow you and one other person to be on line at the same time, trading messages to simulate a conversation. It is also possible to "chat" with many more than one person at a time, simulating a conference call.
The most popular chat program is called Internet Relay Chat (IRC) On IRC, several people can simultaneously participate in a discussion over a particular 'channel' (a discussion group), or even multiple channels. There is no restriction on the number of people that can participate in a given discussion, or on the number of channels that can be formed over IRC.
All conversations take place in real time, which is one of the main attractions of IRC. IRC has been used extensively for live coverage of world events, news, sports commentary, etc. IRC was used to provide live coverage of events during the Gulf War, and since then reports of the Russian coup and earthquakes in California have been carried live over IRC, with people in Russia and California offering eyewitness reports.
IRC, like most other Internet services, is a "client-server" based system. In other words, to use IRC you must use a client (your computer) to access a server (the computer with IRC capability, an IRC server). So clients connect to servers which in turn relay information to other servers (your chat companion's IRC server) which then relay information back down to a client (your chat companion). An example is in order. Say you want to talk to people about widgets.
Quite often, frequent users of email find themselves entering group discussions about everything from trying to set up a meeting, to commenting on a draft document, to providing regular input into a group process. When the group is small and the subject narrowly defined, use of mailing lists and other features of email programs can serve the need. However, as the group grows and other people want to use the same group definition, it turns into a maintenance nightmare. For this purpose, you may want to establish a Listserv. We found a good description of Listservrs in the The Whole Internet User's Guide (Krol, Ed, The Whole Internet User's Guide, O'Reilly & Associates, Inc., 1994). Please refer to that source for more information.
A listserv is a program that manages mailing lists, allowing subscribers to post messages which are automatically mailed to other members. Originally, the BITNET community developed a single program called LISTSERV; more recently, this name has come to be generic for several mailing list manager programs. A Listserv includes several conventions, regardless of specific program used.
*You must subscribe to a Listserv to receive its messages. This turns out to be very easy. You send a specially formatted message to a special address on the computer that runs the mailing list. The "addressee" is often - but not always - the name of the program that's managing the list. For example, to subscribe to a pencil collector's list, you would send a message to its administrator like this:
where subscribe is a keyword and pencils is the name of the Listserv. Be sure to send the subscription request from the account where you want to receive the messages. The list processor gets your email address directly from the message headers, so if you use the wrong account, the mail will go to the wrong place.
*You must "unsubscribe" to a Listserv to get off the mailing list. Mailing lists can be as annoying as any other form of junk mail. Unsubscribing is known as signoff, and is done by sending the following command to the list server:
There are several ways of finding the lists that interest you. Be careful in signing on, however, as you may easily be inundated with mail that you have neither the time nor real interest in reading. The easiest way to find out what lists are available on a particular host, send a one word message to that host: LIST. This will only be useful to find lists in a specific location, however. To search the entire Internet for all Listservs available, you will need a glossary. One such opportunity is managed by SRI in Los Angeles. You can get a copy of their List of Lists by sending a message to mail-server@nisc.sri.com containing this line:
This is a really, really big file (so big that some mail programs cannot deliver it). You can FTP it from ftp.nisc.sri.com or buy it printed in a book called Internet: Mailing Lists (PTR Prentice Hall, 1993 and updated). A source of Usenet Listservs can be found at news.lists.
Most Listservs are open to all those interested, but some are restricted to specific groups. In this case, your request to subscribe may be denied by the owner/operator of the list. An example of this may be a Listserv for a group of non-profit organizations working on a competitive grant. The members of the group need to communicate with each other easily, but also need to keep their grant proposal confidential during its development.
Last Update May 8, 1997